French fashion legend Pierre Cardin celebrates 70 years of design

Two tombs from ancient Egyptian court found near Saqqara

Egyptian archaeologists have found the tombs of two court officials, in charge of music and pyramid building, in a 4,000 year old cemetery from the reign of Pharaoh Unas.

AFP - Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered two tombs at Saqqara south of Cairo dating back more than 4,300 years to the last pharaoh of the fifth dynasty, the Supreme Council of Antiquities said on Monday.

"The two tombs belong to the pharoah Ouna's supervisor general of expeditions and to the head of the royal singers," antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said.

The tombs were found nearly 400 metres (yards) southwest of the massive bulk of King Zoser's step pyramid, the first ever built, at the Saqqara necropolis 30 kilometres (18 miles) south of Cairo.

Hawass said the supervisor general would have overseen work at ancient Egypt's quarries, especially at Tora near Cairo, a source of granite.

In November Egypt's culture minister announced the discovery of the remains of a 4,300-year-old pyramid at the Saqqara necropolis, an ancient burial ground dating back to 2,700 BC that is dominated by Zoser's pyramid.